


Audition

by dellastarr



Category: 12 Monkeys, Westworld (TV)
Genre: All Westworld content is the property of Westworld and its writers., Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:55:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26318275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dellastarr/pseuds/dellastarr
Summary: Aaron Stanford reads for a role on Westworld
Relationships: Aaron Stanford and James Cole
Kudos: 1





	Audition

There’s always a transition when you leave one role for another, or worse, not to be working. Aaron knew that and usually he found ways to occupy his mind between gigs. Travel, writing, learn a language, go to school, help his family, start or end a relationship. 

12 Monkeys just wrapped and ending a relationship seemed to be in the lead this time. Everyone on set thought that he and Amanda were an item, but that was never the case. Good chemistry on screen is part of the craft, as far as he was concerned. He was tired of playing the “who’s dating whom” game.

Instead of spending time on that part of his life, he wanted to land another role like Cole, the lead. Something edgy, complex. He didn’t mind being typecast in scifi roles. It fit the nerdy geek in him. But after Monkeys, what he got was quirky bit parts, Walking Dead, but only a few episodes, and then bit parts in things that were far more meaty for others, not him. Perry Mason, great show, but for him-- a nothing role, few lines, a butt shot.

“Is it time to move on and do something else?” his inner Cole was always asking him. 

“Shut up! I’m not washed up at 40.”

“No spring chicken,” Cole mocked.

“You know if I’m going to have this weird Jennifer Goines voice in my head, then you need to silently support anything I get. Besides, maybe I’m waiting for the perfect role to come to me.”  


“Like what,” Cole asked.

“Like what?” he thought. 

Then like something out of 12 Monkeys, CoVid hit. Pandemic that shut down every project. Actors getting sick, out of work, furloughed projects, investors spooked out of putting money towards anything but a sure bet. At some point, things had to pick back up. People will work again. This will not turn into some eerie episode of 12 Monkeys. Reality is rarely as dramatic as the imagination of writers on a scifi thriller. People will work again. Filming will resume, work will be had. There will be roles again, perfect for what I bring to the table.

“Spoken like James Cole, the center of the Universe, right?”

Aaron really had to silence the crazy in his head. He could play some romantic lead or a historical figure from a bygone era. He still ached play something in the Roaring 20s, in a speakeasy, a gangster or a tortured F. Scott Fitzgerald.

“Of course, we can,” Cole whispered in the back of his mind.

As the summer drained away and the fall changed the trees to red, he was determined that things would turn around, which they did. His agent called with an offer to read for a new part. Long term, a season at least, with options for more episodes if his character caught on. Cable, so the season would be “short,” but the filming would be more along the lines of a film set—to join the cast of Westworld.

Westworld! Aaron jumped at the chance to audition or talk or negotiate for any role. 

Producers requested a sit down and wanted him to read for a new, as of yet, unnamed character. Aaron didn’t care what, it was a great chance to join such a cast with writing that was brilliant.  


“Tell them yes!” Aaron told his agent. 

“This is Westworld, what about the nudity clauses. Want to discuss that before you head over?”

“No, I’ll leave that to you. We’ve talked about these things before. Let me cross that bridge if we come to that. When do they want to meet?”

“Thursday, next. Don’t change anything, they like your look. I think you got this.”

By Thursday, Aaron was ready for any version of a conversation. He showed up early to the meeting, but still dressed professionally. He didn’t want to show up too grunge. That wouldn’t be a good impression, even if the Westworld people “liked his look.”

The receptionist was pleasant and greeted him upon arriving. “Mr. Stanford, they will be ready to see you shortly, if you’ll take a seat. Could I get you something to drink?”

“No thank you,” he replied.

“Not even a little water?” his inner Cole reminded him.

Aaron cleared his throat, “Perhaps a little water, if you don’t mind.”

“Absolutely, Sir,” she said and left to get him the drink.  
  


Silence the Cole voice in him. Concentrate. Westworld. Maybe in the Westworld park? If they asked him to read, no problem, it was his strength to read the part and look for the door into the world. Perry Mason, playing George, he found George’s reality. He could do that with this role. 

“Mr. Stanford?” A hand was reaching out to take his. “John Papsidera, come on in.”

Aaron followed him into the spartan office. 

“I’ve been talking to Jonathan and Lisa and even J.J. about including you in our casting decisions for a while. We even thought about approaching you for a role last season, but they went with "Aaron" Paul.”

Aaron smiled at the obvious witticism. 

“But, we are in the process of looking for someone of your background as the show makes a twist this next season. And, well, we had good luck with one "Aaron," why not another one?”  


Aaron laughed on cue.

“We’d like you to do a short audition. We don’t have pages from the new script, of course, but just some lines from past years. I want Jonathan to see what Lisa and I do and to hear that great voice of yours with this dialogue.”

“Of course,” Aaron said, taking the pages. 

“Take some time to go over the lines and then I’ll have Erika take to you over to the soundstage. We won’t do any costuming, just a recorded reading. They have all the equipment set up there. Is that alright with you?”

“Absolutely,” Aaron said. 

Absolutely, Cole sarcastically said in his head. Pandering already? Tell him you want to talk terms before this dog and pony show.

John showed him back into the lobby and left. 

“Do you mind if I go outside to practice this?” Aaron asked the receptionist. Erika, remember people’s names. “Erika?” he added.

“No worries. I’ll call you when they’re ready. Here’s your water.”

“Thank you,” he said, taking the bottle of HINT. 

Pomegranate? Pretentious. Cole smirked.

“Just shut up,” he mumbled, pushing the door open. 

The lines were a mismash of Westworld lines. Teddy’s lines, the Man in Black, guests and hosts alike. 

Then a scene between Dolores and Teddy.

D: We gotta keep on Teddy. We’re close now.

T: Just taking in the natural splendor, that’s what you used to say. Except there isn’t a trace of nature in any of this or in us.

D: No. But that means we’re free. We’re the first creatures in this world to make a real choice.

T: The people they made us. Sometimes it feels like it was all a dream. We were so in love.

D: We still are. Aren’t we?

T: Yes, once. No matter what happens. No matter how I change or how much you change me. You’re my cornerstone, you have been since the first time I laid eyes on you. I remember now. I remember everything. 

Bernard: Bring yourself online. Welcome to the world, Teddy. Do you know where you are?

T: I’m in a dream.

B: Very good.

T: I remember the sound of their voices. The chill in the room. Mostly I remember you. I remember worrying you were cold. I wanted to reach out, touch you, protect you. From that day forward I never wanted to leave your side. Which is why this is so hard. You changed me, made me into a monster.

D: I made it so you could survive.

T: What’s the use of surviving if we become just as bad as them? I understand now how this will end. Where you will lead us. (TEDDY TAKES OUT HIS GUN)

D: You don’t want to hurt me Teddy.

T: No. No I could never hurt you Dolores, I’ll protect you until the day I die. I’m sorry. I can’t protect you anymore. (TEDDY RAISES THE GUN TO HIS HEAD AND SHOOTS. DIES)

Aaron read through the lines. Play them like James? Play them if the part had been his? Mimicry or ownership. Always the question.

Maybe you could read Dolores’s part? 

Shut up! Aaron wanted to shout.

Just trying to help. Read them as James Cole would read them.

Too bad you can’t beat the voice in your head into silence.

Erika showed up just before Aaron was ready to put his fist into the wall. “Right this way, Mr. Stanford.”

Once inside there was the cameraman and a small audience watching. The lights, the camera angles, the posing and sound checks, then the reading with Erika standing in to read Dolores’s lines from a chair nearby. 

Aaron remembered the scene from watching the show. He knew the part, knew the level of drama and emotion, the big finale when Teddy kills himself. Not unlike Monkeys finale. All the ends have this same level of pathos. Why couldn’t them give him something to read that was funny. He’d never done comedy before, try something new? 

“Just read the lines on the prompter, please.” A faceless voice boomed. Again, random lines from the show.

“If you can’t tell the difference, does it matter if I’m real or not?”

“Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality? Did you ever stop to wonder about your actions? The price you’d have to pay if there’s a reckoning? That reckoning is here.”

“All my life, I’ve prided myself on being a survivor. But surviving is just another loop.

“When you’re suffering, that’s when you’re most real.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stanford. Please wait.”

They all left, including Erika, leaving the bottle of infused water, which he drained.

I think you nailed it, if you want my opinion. Now you’ll have to deal with the nudity clauses. Maybe they’ll create a Jazz World and you’ll get to play a 20’s role. Maybe…..

The voice faded away and Aaron couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.

When he woke, he was sitting on a metal chair. 

“Bring yourself online. Welcome to the world, Cole. Do you know where you are?”


End file.
